Take Two
by pureimagination95
Summary: A year has past since the series finale of TGS and things aren't looking so great for Liz. As always, she turns to Jack for help. But, things are different this time...
1. One Year Later

**A/N: **So, I just recently finished 30 Rock and I wasn't too happy with the way it ended. The finale felt like they suddenly decided to tie up loose ends out of the blue. Therefore, I decided to make a short fic taking place approximately a year later.

One: One Year Later

Liz stood on the steps of the public courthouse building, trying to force some fresh air into her body and blocking any emotions from reaching her senses. The unforgiving February wind whipped through her hair, billowing her curls around into a mess. She was too exhausted to even try to push the locks out of her face. She was tired in every sense that a human being could be tired.

If only this entire process had been a surreal experience, it would have made things much easier. Instead she'd had to feel every single moment as it passed. It all felt too real.

She could hear his footsteps behind her, but she didn't look back, she didn't move. It would hurt too much. She never wanted to see his face again, because when she looked at him all she could see was the pain that she put him through. She couldn't handle that wounded look in his eyes with the knowledge that it was the choices that she'd made that put them where they were now.

But she had no choice but to put up with seeing his face on a regular basis. Only in the brutally clear hindsight did Liz realize how they'd rushed into things. She couldn't escape him now; they had two kids that they'd adopted together. They would have to meet up to trade off kids every other week, talk to one another about their children's lives, and there was no way to escape it without engaging into a bloody custody battle.

Despite how much her guilt would encompass her every time she was around him, she would have to endure it. Liz loved her kids too fiercely to care about her own emotional well being.

"You should call Jack." Criss spoke first, as he came up behind Liz on the steps. There was a mild trace of bitterness in his voice as he spoke, but it was overpowered by sadness. She had truly broken him. She refused to look over at him, for fear of publicly bursting into tears. "Let him know what he's done."

Through all the guilt, his comment still struck an irritable cord within her. There was no need to blame Jack for the current situation. He was entirely oblivious to what was happening due to the fact that she hadn't spoken to him in an entire year. She'd backed away from her friendship with Jack soon after he'd left NBC. There was no excuse to see him everyday now that he didn't work in the same office as her. He wasn't her boss; there was no reason to seek out his advice. These were a couple of the many inquiries that Criss had about Liz and Jack's relationship. She halted all communication with Jack in attempts at salvaging her marriage.

She barely felt him brush passed her as he marched away from the scene. It was as he'd made it to the very bottom step when Liz felt a sudden desire to have the last word. Perhaps, after the seven years she'd spent under Jack Donaghy's tutelage, Jack had actually rubbed off on her a little bit. Even after a year apart, she could still see pieces of him within her.

She had to say something. Anything.

"I do love you, Criss."

It did its job. Criss paused in his place, processing Liz's parting words. He took a deep breath, allowing what she said to sink in. He looked over his shoulder at her, making eye contact with her for the first time since proposing they do this.

"Yeah, but not as much as you love him." With that said, he walked off.

Liz suddenly lost all desire to have the last word. She didn't have anything to argue with. He was right.

"Just breathe, Lemon." She uttered to herself, digging into her coat pocket and pulling out her cellphone. "Breathe, and hit one." Her hands trembled as she forced herself to call him.

All this time and he was still number one on her speed dial.

He picked up after the first ring.

"Lemon…" The deep, gravel voice came over the speaker in a soft tone of surprise.

"Jack…Hi…" Liz responded after a beat. "I-I know that we haven't seen each other in a year and this going to be lame of me to do, but I need a favor."

"What is it?"

Liz noticed the way his voice had suddenly hardened, causing her to panic. She slammed her eyes shut tightly, forcing the words to come out. "Criss and I just got divorced."

There was a stretch of deafening silence as Liz waited for Jack to react.

"What?" His voice had reverted back to the soft, surprised tone as before.

"Yeah…I'm literally standing on the court house steps, alone…and I…" Liz took a deep calming breath. She could do this. "I really need you right now. Could you please come pick me up?"

She could hear her own voice tremble as she spoke, threatening tears at any given moment.

"Give me ten minutes." His response was immediate this time; she could already hear him putting his coat on.

"Thanks, Jack." Liz whispered into the phone, listening to the click of Jack hanging up on the other line. She followed in suit and stood there, staring at Criss' figure shrinking in the distance.


	2. OOC

**A/N: **Okay, so I'm still figuring out exactly how I'm going to execute my plot. Just bare with me as I get us where I want to go.

Two: OOC

It had started to snow as Liz stood in the cold, waiting for Jack to pull up in…well, to be honest she wasn't quite sure what Jack was going to be riding in. Liz quickly noted in her mind that even subconsciously she knew that Jack wouldn't be driving his car. Jack doesn't drive, he has a driver.

As time ticked by she decided that nothing was so cold as New York in February. Why had she chosen to live here? Florida was a much more pleasant place to live

She stopped right there.

The time she and Jack had spent in Florida was the only time that she'd ever had the courage to address him about their lack of a sexual history. She couldn't forget the way her heart had jack hammered (no pun intended) in her chest when they accidentally rolled together. If Jack hadn't panicked to get away from her, she knew that she might not have moved._ Just to prove her point_. That's the excuse she'd been telling herself for the past year anyways.

That was the most physical contact that she'd ever had with Jack and in that moment she'd realized that it was for good reason.

There was no way for her to be so comfortable around a man who had that type of an effect on her body. No man ever really made her feel like that. Perhaps if she and Jack had touched more then they would have gotten together before she'd ever even met Criss.

She shook herself when she realized that she was actually entertaining the idea that Jack would ever feel that way about her. Jack didn't date women like her. He dated women like Avery. She absent-mindedly kicked the pavement with her shoe as she mulled this over. Sure, Jack had complimented her here and there when she actually made an effort to look nice but she knew that he never meant it in the same way he'd meant it when he said the same thing to Avery. When he told Liz that she looked beautiful he meant that she looked as good as she was going to get. When he told Avery that she looked beautiful he meant that he wanted to rip that dress off of her body and have his way with her.

He would never want to do that to Liz.

Not because she had low self-esteem, but because she just wasn't his type. She was typically to the taste of men who loved women who were intelligent, quirky, and a dorky. Jack's taste was more in the mindless, wild, sex-goddess department.

Luckily, her internal monologue was halted as a black Cadillac slowed to a stop in front of her. This was Jack. No one else with enough money to own a car like this one would pull up next to her.

The black glass of the back seat window rolled down, to reveal Jack Donaghy looking as handsome as ever. The silver fox gazed out the window, piercing her with his signature blue eyes. He looked her over, scanning for any changes in her appearance.

"Jack…" Liz spoke first, feeling the scrutiny of his gaze.

"Good God, Lemon!" He burst, staring at her shoes with disgust. "You had a whole year to get rid of those monstrosities!" Liz smiled at his criticism, filling her chest with warmth that she hadn't felt in a long time. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she thrived off of this. Displeasing him had always been a guilty pleasure of hers and the fact that this had been completely unintentional made it all the more satisfying. "You aren't getting into this car until you promise to throw those out and let my buy you some new shoes."

"Fine." She appeased, rolling her eyes in faux-annoyance. "Just open the door, it's freezing out here."

His all-business expression broke into a small smile as he hit the lock and scooted over to make room for Liz. She dived into the car, shivering from the icy weather. She'd never been so grateful for seat heaters in her life. She wasn't in there for more than a few seconds before Jack did something completely out of character for him, he embraced her in a huge hug.

"I've missed you, Lemon." He said into her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine.

'Create distance. Now.' Her mind screamed. If she didn't she wasn't sure what would happen.

She pulled out of the hug and smiled up at him. It was the first time she'd actually genuinely smiled in months. Being reunited with Jack was just what she needed.

"Home, Maurice." Jack instructed the man in the front seat.

"Yes sir." He responded, pulling back out onto the road.

"Home?" Liz asked looking at Jack confused.

"Yeah, you're going to stay with me until Criss has made arrangements to move out."

"Jack…"

"Don't bother fighting me on this, Lemon." He replied, staring out his window with the usual statuesque pucker to his lips. He really was handsome, not that she'd ever admit that she thought so.

"How did you even know that Criss was still staying in my apartment?"

"I have my ways."

"But, I don't understand. We haven't seen each other in a year…"

Jack didn't have to interrupt Lemon this time, his gaze shifted from the window to her. All words escaped her memory at the sight of his teasing expression. "I'm insulted, Lemon. You really think I wouldn't keep tabs on you?"

"You…what?" Liz was for a loss for words. It made sense now. She'd been feeling like she was being watched recently, but Criss had assured her that she was only being paranoid.

"You wouldn't answer my phone calls, your assistant turned me away from your office, and Criss told me you didn't want to see me when I came to your apartment. How else was I supposed to make sure you were taking care of yourself?" He shot back as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Liz couldn't help it; she was touched. Jack had basically admitted to needing her in his life, even when she was unwilling. No one had ever put that much effort into caring for her before and it was endearing.

'Let it go, Lemon.' She commanded herself, fighting to suppress whatever part of her this was. However, that may have been the issue right there. Perhaps this part of her had been suppressed for too long and now that she didn't have anything to lose, this part of her was now emerging.

And this part of her was in love with Jack Donaghy.


	3. The Next Morning

**A/N:**_ It's a brand new year! I am SOOO sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I just got busy and suddenly it was over a month since I last updated! Don't worry, I'm going to get back on top of this!_

Three: The Next Morning

Jack let out a content sigh as he hit the snooze on his alarm. He never had to be to work before noon anymore, one of the many perks of founding your own company. He rolled over and let himself just lay there. Until he suddenly remembered what happened last night.

Liz was back in his life.

His eyes shot up and he raced to pull himself to together as quickly as possible. It didn't take him much, simply throwing on a suit and gelling down his hair was enough. He smirked at himself in the mirror as he exited his room and headed for his kitchen.

It was a little after nine, Liz would be on her way out the door.

"Good morning, Lemon." He said as he walked into the room, with a composed air of elegance. He studied her face to see if she'd somehow witnessed his frantic race to catch her before she left.

Liz looked up from her plate, a mouthful of bacon stopping her from responding. A grunt and nod was all she was able muster. She chuckled at the look of disgust on Jack's face. Liz didn't give a damn if she grossed him out, the bacon that he left in his fridge was absolutely delicious.

Jack shook his head at his friend before walking passed her, retrieving himself a bowl of whole grain cereal.

"Why are you eating a bowl of cardboard chips for breakfast?" Liz asked, arching a brow at him.

"I'm getting older, Liz. I'm not able to handle my grease and fat the way I used to." He reminded her with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Don't give me looks of disgust when your food tastes like sand." She threw over her shoulder as she set her plate in the sink. "I've got to get going. I'm already late for the 9:15 train to Rockefeller."

"You do know that I have a car. A driver." He reminded her, taking another bite of his cereal.

"I'm aware." She said as her parting words as she walked out of the kitchen. Jack paused, listening for the sound of the front door opening and closing. He let out a deep sigh as it did.

He had succeeded in seeing her off to work in time.

Like clockwork, a young woman slender in frame, sporting the same clothes as yesterday, skipped into the kitchen.

"Morning." The twenty-something blonde greeted the older man with a kiss on the mouth. She paused as she pulled back from the kiss, sniffing the air. "Did you make bacon?" She glanced down at the bowl of wheat flakes in confusion.

"No." He stated simply, not looking at the girl. "I have to be getting to work, you should probably go."

The girl nodded and pecked Jack on the cheek. "This was just a one time thing."

"Of course." He replied, watching the girl go out the same way Liz had.

He wouldn't let Liz know that after she'd gone to bed, he'd gone out and picked a girl up. She would find it to be some violation of their friendship, he knew his friend too well.

Too well.

His eyes lingered on the doorframe that both women had walked through. He suddenly felt inexplicably guilty. He should have told Liz that he was going out. He should have told her that he planned to bring a woman home. He should have told her.

So why didn't he?

He told Liz everything when they were co-workers. What could have suddenly made it so he wasn't comfortable sharing his private life with her? He sighed and ran a hand over his smooth hair. It would have to be something that he'd ponder at a later time. Right now he had to go to work.

*****30 Rock*****

"You stayed at Jack's house last night?!" Jenna burst, throwing her script onto her desk. She typically didn't care about anything that wasn't about her, but this was hot news. "How was it? Was it weird? How was the sex?"

"It was fine, a little weird, and we didn't sleep together, Jenna!" Liz responded, leaning up against the door to Jenna's dressing room. Jenna had hooked herself a talk show that was shot only two floors above where Liz wrote for Grizz's show.

"Liz, you're a recent divorcee that spent her first night alone in the house of the man that caused your divorce." Jenna pointed out, turning to check herself out in her mirror. If the subject couldn't be about her, at least she could look at herself. "There's no way you two _didn't_."

"No. No way!" Liz protested, shaking her head vigorously. "Sex with Jack? Bleck! No way." She shuddered, a slight blush warming her cheeks. "It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like then?" Jenna asked, only half listening to Liz at this point. The amount of attention she'd given this was only due to the fact that she knew that Liz and Jack were an inevitable thing. Especially now. She'd lost hope when Liz had gotten married to Criss, but their divorce only cemented what Jenna had been thinking for years now.

Jack and Liz were meant for one another.

It wasn't often such polar opposites as Jack and Liz got along and when they did, it had to mean something.

"We just sort of talked, all night." Liz admitted, shifting from one foot to the other.

"All night?" Jenna asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, I mean I didn't go to bed until ten!" Liz exclaimed.

Jenna scoffed at Liz's remark, having to remind herself that was late for Liz.

"I give it two weeks, three tops."

"It's not like that, Jenna!"

"Uh huh." Jenna said, no longer listening to her friend. She stood up from her makeup desk, walking towards the door.

"Jack's not interested in me in that way."

"Says who? You!" Jenna stated, amazed that she was able to focus this long on something that had nothing to do with her. "You have about as much sexual confidence as a fat teenager that spends her nights watching reality TV and shoving Twinkies in her mouth."

"Hey, those shows are amusing in an ironic way!"

"I'm just saying, Jack wants the V."

"Jack has known me almost 8 years now. If he wanted the V, he had plenty of time to take it." Liz exclaimed, her heart suddenly pounding. "N-not that sex with me is something he could have just taken from me…I-I wasn't saying that I…"

"It's okay to want sex. You know that, right Liz?"

"Nerds!" Liz cursed, throwing her hands in the air. "Not the point, Jenna! The point is that Jack doesn't want to sleep with me!"

"Yes, he does."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I have my ways." Jenna said, a devilish look on her face. "I guarantee Jack stops by today and offers to take you to lunch."

"Jenna…"

"You just wait." Jenna challenged Liz. "It's going to happen."

With that being said, Jenna walked out of her dressing room. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and began typing up a memo.

"LL got divorced. I reopen the pool at $500, J and LL are going to get together.

-Jenna"

Jenna had lost $1,000 in the pool they had going back in the good old days of TGS. It was time for her to win her money back.


	4. Negotiation

**A/N: **_I'm glad you guys are enjoying the fic so far! Sorry that the last chapter was a little dialogue heavy! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter!_

Chapter 4: Negotiation

"Liz?" Cerie popped her head into Liz's office. Liz looked up from her computer, her eyes landing on the sight of her extremely underdressed secretary. It'd gotten to the point where Liz just stopped commenting on it for fear that it'd only make it worse. "Mr. Donaghy is here to see you."

Liz's eyes went round as she processed this information. _Jenna was right!_ She shook her head and gathered her thoughts. _It's only a coincidence. _She took a deep breath and glanced back at her half written script.

"Tell him I'm busy and to come back later." She replied, returning to her work.

"I knew she'd say that." A deep voice rang from just the other side of her door. "Step aside, Cerie."

Liz's gaze snapped back onto the doorway as Cerie simply moved out of the way and allowed Jack to walk into her new office. Liz shot a threatening glare at Cerie as she shrugged and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Cerie had placed half of her paycheck on them getting together within the next week.

"So, this is the new office." Jack stated as he inspected the room with a critical eye. "It's much nicer than your last one. Bigger."

Liz could feel his cauterizing gaze on her, as she refused to look at him. He was intruding into her office, against her wishes. The damn man could still pull strings even when he no longer worked there. She tried to get back to her work, ignoring him standing in front of her, but found that she suddenly was blank. She couldn't come up with a new joke to save her life. Jack's presence was distracting her.

"Still not as big as the one you deserve." Jack added after a pause.

The indirect compliment forced Liz's eyes to stray from her glowing computer screen, onto the dapper fellow standing in front of her desk. His expression was warm and friendly. He was being a smoozer and Liz would not stand for it. His manipulative nature was one of Liz's least favorite things about Jack. However, it was also one of his qualities that she found most impressive.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" Liz finally offered up. "Do I already repulse you enough that you want to kick me out of your house?"

"No—no, of course not!" Jack stammered, taken off guard by her icy tone. Usually his flattery worked to at least get a smile out of Liz. Had she really become immune to him in the year they spent apart?

_No one's immune to me._

"I'm here to ask you if you've had lunch yet."

Liz's breath caught in her throat. _You have got to be kidding me!_ An image of Jenna standing at her door with a _told you so_ expression on her face suddenly appeared over Jack's shoulder. Her throat went dry from the thought that Jenna could be right.

_Don't be ridiculous, Lemon!_ She scolded herself, yet again, for entertaining the idea that Jack harbored any feelings towards her.

"I really can't. I've got half a script here that I need to be done by tomorrow." Liz responded, looking away from Jack's handsome face and back down to her computer. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jack's confusion expression.

"That's not what I asked you. I asked if you had lunch, not if you wanted to." He said in a tone that made Liz feel uncomfortable. It was the tone he used when he was in negotiations with people, negotiations that he never lost. The silence that followed was due to the fact that Liz wasn't sure she would be able to say anything to make Jack back off. "Come on, Liz."

Jack calling her by her first name certainly got her attention. Liz looked Jack in the eye, surprised by his pleading expression.

"You love to eat, so stop pretending you don't want to and let me take you out to lunch."

She stared hard at his face, searching for the ingenuities, the proof that he was playing her for his own gain. There had to be some reason for his sudden desire to want to take her out to lunch. Sure, they'd had many meals together before, but he'd never pressured her so heavily to go with him. With a sigh, she gave up trying to analyze him and turned her attention back to her work. Maybe if she ignored him, he'd go away.

"I'm worried about you, Lemon."

Liz kept her gaze locked on her screen, her fingers resting motionless on her keyboard. _Did Jack just express emotion? Keep calm and wait for the punch line to the joke._

"I've been worried about you ever since I pulled up to you at the court house. There are dark circles under your eyes, you're far less out spoken with me than you were the last time I saw you, and you're refusing a free meal."

"You're reading too far into me." Liz finally found the courage to speak. Jack's expression flickered between irritation and surprise.

"Please look at me."

At his request, Liz gave in and made eye contact with him once again.

"Come let me treat you lunch, Liz. As your friend, I need to make sure you're okay." The sincerity in his voice scared Liz to the very core. Jack was expressing himself much more freely than he had ever in the eight years she'd known him. "Besides, I'm also going to go shopping for the shoes you promised to let me get you. If you don't come with me then I'm going to pick them out alone."

Liz smiled meekly at his attempt to turn the mood a little lighter. He knew that Liz was never very comfortable with serious situations for long.

"You know me better than I know myself, Jack." Liz admitted cautiously. "If anyone could pick out a pair of shoes for me, it's you."

"Maybe I'll just have to find a pair of stilettos." Jack teased, his smirk causing Liz's heart rate to spike.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would and I've already arranged for your shoes to be disposed of. You'll have no choice but to wear what I pick out for you."

"I don't have any clothes with me that will match that. I'm already wearing the same clothes I wore yesterday."

"I guess I'd just have to buy you some new clothes with it."

"Jack…" Liz knew she was being baited but she couldn't help it. She knew that Jack wouldn't back down, he was not afraid to act on his words.

"Fine." She surrendered, closing her laptop.

Jack's smile grew in victory. He loved the rush from winning a negotiation, especially one with the very stubborn Liz Lemon. All he had to do was turn her stubbornness against her and she'd crumble. Every time.

"We're going shopping first." Jack told Liz as she followed Jack out of her office. "I won't be seen with you in a four star restaurant dressed like a dowdy stay at home mother."

"Hey!" Liz said, running an insecure hand over her worn out TGS hoodie. She couldn't get rid of the novelty item. It was part of who she was. It was part of the past, part of her and Jack's past.

"That dreadful piece of clothing is going, just like those shoes on her feet." Jack proclaimed as he hit the down button on the elevator.


End file.
